Navy SEALs have secretly captured one of the most wanted terrorists in Iraq — the alleged mastermind of the murder and mutilation of four Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004. And three of the SEALs who captured him are now facing criminal charges, sources told FoxNews.com.

The three, all members of the Navy’s elite commando unit, have refused non-judicial punishment — called a captain’s mast — and have requested a trial by court-martial.

Ahmed Hashim Abed, whom the military code-named “Objective Amber,” told investigators he was punched by his captors — and he had the bloody lip to prove it. LINK

Now, instead of being lauded for bringing to justice a high-value target, three of the SEAL commandos, all enlisted, face assault charges and have retained lawyers.

This story barely made the news this weekend but I didn’t forget about it. If anyone cares to think back to this unbelievable, savage atrocity committed during the height of the fighting in Iraq, what you will recall is enough to make you tremble with rage and wretch with disgust. Four Blackwater security contractors working for the U.S. government, were ambushed, murdered, mutilated and hung from a bridge. Their killers got away, for a while. Look it up.

(CNN) — Swiss voters on Sunday adopted a referendum banning the construction of minarets, seen by some on the far right as a sign of encroaching Islamism. “The Federal Council respects this decision,” said a statement from Switzerland’s government. “Consequently the construction of new minarets in Switzerland is no longer permitted. The four existing minarets will remain.

“It will also be possible to continue to construct mosques,” the government statement said. “Muslims in Switzerland are able to practice their religion alone or in community with others, and live according to their beliefs just as before.”

As of 10 a.m. ET, 57 percent of voters had cast ballots in favor of the ban, according to Swiss media reports.LINK

It warms my heart to know that at least 57% of the notoriously liberal Swiss population still have their wits about them. They took a brave stand this week and voted to restrict further construction of Islamic minarets in their country. For their bravery and expression of self-determination they were immediately pounced on by the impotent, European left.

It looks like at least one bank in America isn’t going belly up! Snark* Last night the local credit union graciously sponsored their annual tree lighting ceremony. The festivities featured The Philadelphia Boys Choir complete with free hot chocolate and fireworks. It was strictly a neighborhood event but I would estimate there were over one thousand people there.

The choir sang traditional Christmas carols, imagine that! They also sounded unbelievable even though it was outdoors. The fireworks were also fantastic but then again fireworks are always great in my book. At the end they lit the CHRISTMAS tree in grand fashion. It was an excellent beginning of the holiday season.

Moscow, Russia (CNN) — Investigators have found “elements of an explosive device” at the site of the derailment of an express train in Russia and believe an act of terror caused the deadly incident.

The derailment killed at least 26 people and injured about 100, but there was no immediate word on who or what group might have been behind the action. “One can say with certainty that that was indeed an act of terror,” Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the investigative committee of the Russian prosecutor’s office, told CNN.

He would not elaborate on exactly what kind of “elements of an explosive device” the investigators discovered earlier, but said the crater found beneath the railroad bed was “1.5 meter by 1 meter in size.” LINK

This atrocity should send a loud and clear message that no country in the world is safe from extremism. It has yet to be determined the exact motivation behind this savage attack but the smart money has already pegged Islamic extremism. No other extremist philosophy today so actively supports, even ADVOCATES this type of cowardly attack.

This attack should be a clear warning to the Obama administration and Attorney General Eric Holder in particular that these maniacs are not finished with us. Any country they view as an enemy of Islam (just about everyone) is fair game for random civilian attacks of the worst imaginable.

Russia has had it’s hands full fighting Islamic extremism in Chechnya. One of the most horrific attacks to date was the attack on a school in Beslan. That atrocity killed 334 people over 100 hundred of them children. Yet this attack is almost unknown here in the states. Ask three friends what happened in Beslan and see what answer you get. Probably a blank stare. Suffice to say the Russians are no stranger to tragedy.

Although the Russians are moving ahead with a criminal investigation, it’s safe to say the Russian criminal justice isn’t much like our federal courts. I’m quite sure that whomever is responsible for this act of savagery once caught will swiftly pay the ultimate price the Russians can extract.

Today is Thanksgiving. I hope everyone who reads this has a great holiday. I will be thinking about all I have to be thankful for this holiday. I have a lot to be thankful for and I know it. I have a job, a happy healthy family (for the most part) and a safe, secure, warm home in the greatest country in the world to come home to. So yeah I am pretty thankful.

At the same time my sister’s husband is deployed overseas, my uncle is sick with Cancer, and there are plenty of people out there without a job. Keep them all in your prayers.

Tonight I am working. The firehouse doesn’t close because of the holiday. That means I’ll have dinner around 1pm at home then go in early so I can relieve the day shift Lieutenant. That way he can get home at a reasonable hour to have dinner with his family. That’s what makes this job special. The way we take care of each other. It’s something you learn early in your career, part of our tradition.

Tonight I’ll have another dinner at the station with my second family. We’ll be cooking turkey and hoping for a quiet night. There’s nothing worse than a house fire around the holidays. It compounds the tragedy in my book. I never liked working the holidays for that reason. It’s tough to see someone’s house destroyed at any time of the year let alone during the holidays.

On a side note the boy is singing in his school’s choir and they will be taking part in this years Thanksgiving parade down town. They will be on the steps of The Philadelphia Museum of Art (where Rocky ran up). He left grumpy and tired at 7am but should be home around 11. We will be looking for him on TV. Should be memorable.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) – A federal judge has ordered Connecticut officials to promote 14 firefighters who won a reverse discrimination case in a landmark ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court.

U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton ruled Tuesday that the civil rights of white New Haven firefighters were violated when city officials threw out the results of a 2003 promotion exam when too few minorities did well.

Her ruling followed the Supreme Court’s instructions.

In 2006, Arterton had thrown out the white firefighters’ lawsuit. A federal appeals court upheld her decision before the Supreme Court overturned both rulings in June.

City spokeswoman Jessica Mayorga said Tuesday that New Haven intends to promote the firefighters “as soon as practicable.”

Six firefighters are set to be promoted to captain and eight to lieutenant. LINK

It’s hard to overstate the impact of this massive victory on the American fire service thanks to those brave New Haven firefighters. In order to understand what they have done, or the magnitude of their bravery, we have to look at the fundamental situation those firefighters faced.

Came out of the firehouse the other day to find dopey the cat lounging on the hood of my truck. Must have been a warm place to lay out because the cat hung out for a while. It finally took off but not after we played with it for a while. A slow day’s diversion.

Scientific progress depends on accurate and complete data. It also relies on replication. The past couple of days have uncovered some shocking revelations about the baloney practices that pass as sound science about climate change.

It was announced Thursday afternoon that computer hackers had obtained 160 megabytes of e-mails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) in England. Those e-mails involved communication among many scientific researchers and policy advocates with similar ideological positions all across the world. Those purported authorities were brazenly discussing the destruction and hiding of data that did not support global-warming claims.

Professor Phil Jones, the head of the Climate Research Unit, and professor Michael E. Mann at Pennsylvania State University, who has been an important scientist in the climate debate, have come under particular scrutiny. Among his e-mails, Mr. Jones talked to Mr. Mann about the “trick of adding in the real temps to each series … to hide the decline [in temperature].” LINK

It should come as no surprise that the wheels are starting to come off the scam that is Global Warming, just like they are coming off the federal governments attempted take over of our health care system. Just like they came off ACORN…

When Congress or any politicians advocate one program for the citizenry while exempting themselves from that program, it should send up the proverbial Red Flag of warning. When it comes to our current health care debate that is the only question we really need to answer : Is Congress and the rest of our government officials going to be subject to the same laws everyone else is. The resounding answer is NO!

This simple provision, forcing Congress to abide by whatever monstrosity they create, would provide all Americans with the assurance that what’s good for the Goose is good for the Gander. Maybe Joe Lieberman will call Congress to account on the issue. When it comes to the law, we constantly hear the democrats carping about how murdering terrorists should be treated the same way we treat American citizens. That’s fine. Then let Congress abide by the same health care laws they want for the rest of us. Otherwise we need to pay attention to the red flags.

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These are my personal writings and opinions. They are in no way representative of official Philadelphia Fire Department policy and should in no way be viewed as such. For entertainment purposes, reflection, scorn, loathing and amusement only. Place yer bets!

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